Rochester moves into a first-place tie with the Buffalo Bandits following the win over the Mammoth.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The game against the Colorado Mammoth was as whacky as the National Lacrosse League’s Eastern Conference standings as the Rochester Knighthawks rallied from a 5-goal deficit to post a 16-14 victory on Saturday night before 6,228 fans at the Connors & Ferris Field at the Blue Cross Arena.
“It was an entertaining game, and I give (the team) full credit,” said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. “It’s great to come away with a ‘W’ at home with this one.”
With the victory, Rochester moved into a tie for first place with the Buffalo Bandits as both teams sport an 8-7 record. It marks the first time since Week 3 (2-1) that the Knighthawks have been above .500.
“Our goal is always that trophy at the end of the year,” said Joe Resetarits. “We’ve still got three games, so we’ve got a lot of work to do and the East (Division) is tight. But, we know if we do our job, we win, and we’re in.”
Rochester ends the regular season in Buffalo against the Bandits on April 28. The Hawks are 2-1 versus their Queen City foes in the previous 3 meetings.
The Knighthawks are idle next week before traveling to the Toronto Rock (7-7) on April 13, then play host to the New England Black Wolves (6-8) on April 21.
Cody Jamieson scored the goal that put the Knighthawks in front for the first time, 12-11, in the third quarter. He also broke the final tie and netting what proved to be the game-winner with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter.
“We knew what it was going to take to win this game,” said Resetarits. “They’re a great team. They’ve been hot all year, and we knew they’d go on their runs. The thing is you don’t want (goaltender) Dillon Ward to get hot, and we got to him early.
“We just kept battling. This game is so quick. We know in this league when you’re down by five goals it’s nothing. We know what it takes to win.”
Resetarits secured the victory 29 seconds later with his third tally of the game for the hat trick. Both players finished with 6 points as Resetarits had 3 assists and Jamieson had 4 assists.
Angus Goodleaf relieved Matt Vinc between the pipes 4:30 into the second period after the Mammoth had taken an 8-4 lead. ‘Gussy’ went on to play a stellar game, allowing just 6 goals over 40 minutes and turning aside 30 shots.
“We know that when we put him in, he’s going to be ready to go,” said Hasen. “Tonight, he settled in nicely, and he’s a big reason we got this win.”
Cory Vitarelli also collected a hat trick and finished with 5 points.
“(Colorado) played well for coming off the back-to-back,” said Vitarelli. “Our first half didn’t go as well as we wanted it to but (we played) a tough game and stuck it out. We got some late ones to go in, and it gave us the win.”
Rookies Austin Shanks and Eric Fannell collected 5 points apiece with 2 goals and 3 assists.
Jake Withers, Ian Lord, Graeme Hossack, and Kyle Jackson added 1 goal each to complete the Rochester scoring.
The Knighthawks have done well against the Western Conference, sweeping the Saskatchewan Rush, which has the best record in the league at 11-3. The Mammoth are next at 10-5.
“Our goal is always that trophy at the end of the year,” said Resetarits. “We’ve still got three games, so we’ve got a lot of work to do and the East (Division) is tight. But, we know if we do our job, we win, and we’re in.”
*NOTES – Former Knighthawks Stephen Keogh and Brad Self play for Colorado. Keogh led all goal scorers with 7 and added 2 assists for 9 points against his former squad. Self scored 1 goal for the Mammoth.
Links
Rochester Knighthawks – knighthawks.com
Videos
Cody Jamieson gw goal – https://youtu.be/gmJFZmXj19Y
Cody Jamieson goal – https://youtu.be/8rGSUpVX9Y4
Eric Fannell goal – https://youtu.be/ySqtiVFz4io
Cory Vitarelli goal – https://youtu.be/qkG99tXdYus
Joe Resetarits goal – https://youtu.be/6z7f6zrcQ9M
Graeme Hossack goal – https://youtu.be/3vBZdljbIyY